PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will look for funds to bankroll the nationwide implementation of the P20 per kilo rice and sustain it until the end of his term in 2028, Palace press officer Claire Castro said yesterday.
In a press briefing, Castro said Marcos is committed to expand the program, which will initially be implemented in the Visayas, throughout the country starting next year.
“Inaayos na po ang mga maaaring issues tungkol sa logistics pero ito po ay maipapatupad po talaga nationwide. At hindi lamang po ito ang naisin at aspirasyon ng ating pangulo, sa susunod pong taon nanaisin po natin na mabigyan po ng sapat na pondo… para po maibsan po talaga ang kahirapan sa pagbili po ng napakamahal na bigas (We are now fixing all the issues [related to the implementation of the program] about logistics so this will be implemented nationwide. This is not just the desire and aspiration of our president, we want to ensure that it would have enough budget next year. We really need to address the issue of expensive rice),” she said.
Marcos, in a post on his official Facebook and Instagram accounts on Wednesday night, said the P20 per kilo rice was his campaign promise in 2022.
“That was the promise. And today, we begin to make it real, starting in the Visayas,” he said.
Castro said the pilot implementation of the initiative will be carried out in the Visayas because there are still many available rice stocks from the National Food Administration (NFA) in the region.
She also said the region’s local government units agreed to subsidize part of the cost of the rice.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel on Wednesday announced the pilot implementation of the P20 per kilo rice program in the Visayas following Marcos’ closed-door meeting with the 12 governors of the region, led by Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia, that was held at the Cebu Provincial Capitol.
The P20 per kilo rice that would be sold are the P33 per kilo rice from the NFA. The national government and the LGUs will split the balance of P13, which means each will shell out P6.50 per kilo of rice to be sold.
Castro also said the decision to sell rice at a lower price has nothing to do with the May 12 midterm elections and the president’s lower approval and trust ratings in recent surveys.
She said efforts to bring down the price of rice has long been planned and studied, even before the surveys were conducted and the election campaign started.
CRAB MENTALITY
Meanwhile, Castro dismissed the remarks of Vice President Sara Duterte that the rollout of the P20 per kilo rice is a “budol” or trick, as those which will allegedly be sold are poor-quality rice that would only be fit for pigs or animals.
She said Duterte’s remark is an insult to the Filipino farmers who planted and harvested the grains and sold it to the NFA.
“Huwag po nating maliitin ang mga farmers natin dahil local farmers po manggagaling ang bigas na ito. Kapag po sinabi ninuman na ito ay pang-hayop na bigas ay minamaliit po natin ang mga farmers natin na nagbebenta po sa NFA, sa ating gobyerno (Do not belittle the farmers because the rice that will be sold comes from our local farmers. Whoever said that these grains are for animals are belittling our farmers who sell their grains to the NFA, to the government),” she said.
She added: “Ang tunay na lider at ang tunay na Pilipino ay dapat sumusuporta sa kapwa Pilipino lalung-lalo na sa pinuno ng bansa. Huwag sanang pairalin ang crab mentality at huwag maging anay sa lipunan (A true leader and a true Filipino should support fellow Filipinos, especially the leader of the country. Let’s not allow crab mentality to prevail, and let’s not be termites in society).”
Laurel expressed disappointment over Duterte’s statement about the quality of rice to be sold in the Visayas.
“With all due respect to the vice president, the Department of Agriculture family is deeply hurt by her suggestion that NFA rice to be sold is ‘hindi pang tao, pang hayop’,” he said.
“We are fully committed to delivering quality rice to our people. At the DA, we cook and eat NFA rice everyday. We can personally vouch for its quality and safety,” he added.
DA emphasized that by law, the NFA is mandated to procure rice only from local farmers to support the domestic agriculture sector.
“Saying the rice that NFA distributes is animal feed is an affront to the quality of rice our millions of hardworking farmers produce. This is false… We are proud of the quality of Filipino rice,” Tiu-Laurel said.
He also urged Duterte to set aside political differences and work in unity with the DA.
“We urge the vice president to join us in this noble endeavor. This initiative is for the Filipino people —whom we have all sworn to serve. Their well-being must remain our highest priority,” he said. – With Jed Macapagal
